I'm Art Blaser from Orange, California

South of Los Angeles.

And the first question had to do with

my background and how I became aware

of the ADA, Disability association

In my case, 
although I had some knowledge before,

not a lot less than most people,

til I became disabled,

Which was in 1983, 
I had a brain stem stroke

and became disabled and a full time

wheelchair user today.

and I would say that

the issues of disability

I confronted

a big one was access to my home

and a simple one was access to my job.

One seemingly trivial

matter that was a major concern

was curb cuts in my neighborhood.

In theory, under the ADA,

they were supposed to be in place,

but were not, in practice, until 1995.

They are today, which I think is

emblematic of the impact of the ADA.

The spirit of the ADA

Would be a combination of talking

to the public about their needs

and eventually Orange, where I lived,

had curb cuts at the corners, which meant

it was possible for me to live.

Access to

buildings and being able to continue

teaching with the aid of computerized

voice were very important

in continuing to teach.

It's the kind of thing that

wouldn't exist decades ago.

California law reinforces

the spirit of the ADA.

We see the ADA do good things

and some things that don't work

just about every day that they

try to get access to different buildings.

This shouldn't be happening,

but in fact it is

If people are motivated,

eventually things change and adapt.

I teach

at Chapel University, since 1981,

so before the ADA.

When I became disabled, I noticed

a lot of the affects through teaching

about disabilities, while having students

who actually grew up knowing

that the ADA existed.

They're the so-called "ADA generation"

Which makes a big difference

People are claiming disability and trying

to make the world a better place.

And, in many cases, they're successful

and in some cases, not.

I think there's a desire

to understand the reason for it.

I think

The spirit of the ADA helps in making the

world a better place, usually. A challenge

we'll face in the future that is

developing now will be ensuring that the

catastrophic effects of COVID-19 do not

recur. The high death rate

in nursing homes needs to be of

concern to everyone, and we need to do

better at providing opportunities to live

in the community rather than in congregate

The Olmstead case was very important in

establishing the right to live in the

community under the ADA, and independent

living centers are playing important

roles in people moving from nursing homes

to the community. In Orange County, I've

been privileged to serve as a board

member of the County's Independent

Living Center, the Dayle McIntosh Center.

This needs to be a priority, not only in

the US but also everywhere that is

experiencing high death rates in nursing

homes. Another factor is the large number

now particularly younger people who are

testing positive for COVID-19 but

recovering at a higher risk for stroke and

multiple sclerosis. Members of the

disability community are well-versed in

demonstrating that a high quality of life

is possible, and society and government

need to provide support that makes this

possible.

The most important steps involve education

broadly conceived. Beginning in child care

people are aware of human differences and

education continues throughout

the lifespan not only to schools but also

through religious organizations and

entertainment media. Increasing

visibility of disabled people, expressed

through different organizations, is

invaluable. Colleges and universities play

an important role, especially when they

value input from disability organizations

and learned experiences of disabled people

Projects such as the Disability Visibility

Project help in publicizing disabled

voices and colleges and universities

can help by calling attention to those

voices rather than trying to offer

expertise in how others should live.